Dear Cape Friends,
If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been along for the ride, welcome back..
Well… Memorial Day Weekend has officially come and gone here on Cape Cod.
Which means summer has apparently arrived.
I say “apparently” because this past weekend felt slightly less like Memorial Day and slightly more like a weather system drifting in from Nova Scotia. Rain. Fog. Wind. Temperatures hovering bravely somewhere around 53 degrees.
I have an old VHF boat radio wired into my kitchen that I regularly listen to for weather updates. Every so often, I’ll flip over to Channel 16 and listen to summer boaters with apparently large wallets and absolutely no idea what they’re doing. Without fail, somebody runs onto a sandbar and immediately radios in to the Coast Guard - sounding as though the Titanic itself just took a torpedo and lives are at stake. Deep breath, Captain. You’re 40 yards from shore. Yes, you will survive and will still make your dinner reservation for 27 people at CBI at 7pm.🍸
but I digress… And yet - in true Cape Cod fashion - absolutely nobody cared.
Summer?
I was down near Lighthouse Beach over the weekend and witnessed what may have been the single most absurd Cape Cod scene of all time: A family standing on the beach wearing bathing suits… and (get this) winter ski caps.
Not sweatshirts. Not jackets. Actual ski caps.
The water temperature, by the way, was approximately 49 degrees - or what scientists commonly refer to as “hypothermia adjacent.”
Still, summer on Cape Cod waits for no one.
-The bridge traffic has begun.
-The ice cream lines are forming.
-Hydrangeas are quietly preparing their annual hostile takeover.
-Golf tee times are suddenly impossible.
-The Chatham Band concerts are returning.
-Cape League baseball is around the corner.
-American flags are appearing everywhere.
-And somewhere across the Cape right now, an uncle named Billy is overcooking hamburgers into hockey pucks on a rusty 1977 Weber grill while insisting: “Erra, they’re friggen perfehct.”
Awakening!
Meanwhile, Main Streets all across the Cape have officially awakened - though Chatham may still hold the gold medal for people watching.
The sidewalks are busy again and the shops are humming.
The Chatham Bars Inn patio has re-emerged as one of the finest people-watching locations in the civilized world. And The Squire - as always - remains approximately eleven minutes away from complete chaos – overflowing with bachelorette parties with landsharks circling.😂
Selective Memory
It’s also that magical time of year where every Cape Cod resident suddenly develops selective memory. By February, we all claim: “I could never survive another summer of traffic.” Then Memorial Day arrives, the flags go up, someone hands us a lobster roll, and suddenly we’re all emotional again. Because beneath the bridge traffic, shark alerts, sunscreen, and packed parking lots, there’s still something undeniably special about summer here.
Btw, am I sounding like a grouch? Perhaps. Or is it just that I’m now a full time resident here on this amazing island and have officially entered the annual Cape Cod tradition of grumbling about tourists while secretly being happy they’re here. Of course I’m kidding. And truthfully, I was once “that guy.”
And much like the beaches, restaurants, golf courses, and ice cream shops, the Cape Cod real estate market has officially awakened as well.
Back to Business
Open house traffic has increased noticeably over the past several weeks, particularly across the Lower Cape. Buyers who spent the winter “thinking about it” are beginning to move more decisively, especially when well-positioned properties come to market.
Inventory still remains relatively tight in many price ranges, but the seasonal energy shift is very real right now.
In other words: The Cape has reopened for business. Even if we all currently need parkas to enjoy it.
(And if you’re around Friday morning, I’ll be at my favorite - Chatham Perk from 8:00–9:00am. As always, coffee’s on me.)
See you around the elbow (and hopefully Friday morning),
Paul
P.S. If you’re thinking about buying or selling, PaulBorde.com is a great place to browse listings, catch past NEWSLETTERS, and stay current on the market - and, if I may say so, revisit a few of my Pulitzer Prize–level hits. 😀